Hi Jason, keep on doing what you're doing! It matters most right now. The foolishness can wait a bit untill better times.

I'm doing... okay. Trying to take in the news in a measured way (this site helps with that! thanks, Jason!) while leaving room for fun and joy. My contribution to Foolishness Friday: the ability to make your own game of Connections (via Cup of Jo). I pulled one together and sent it to my siblings this morning - it was a nice trip down memory lane and slightly harder than I anticipated.

Beyond that, I'm reading The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, listening to Bad Bunny's latest album DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS, and watching old seasons of Survivor (currently, s15).

I'm sick of winter as well!! My kids are passing illnesses back and forth and it's driving me insane.

I went snowshoeing for the first time last week which was pretty great. Nice and slow! I'm re-reading Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks, and reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I've started assistant-teaching a class at the local woodworking school, and I'm trying to watch a movie a day this year! So far so good, although I'm sure once the weather thaws I'll start falling back on the movies. Jason, what's up with your letterboxd account?!? Get back on it man! JK, who has the time.

Just want to chime in and say I appreciate this approach. I first and foremost appreciate this site because there's a real human curating stuff at the other end. This coup is one of the most significant things to happen in our lifetime, and deserves some coverage. On the other hand, all the other richness of the world deserves some attention to remind us what we are fighting for, and it is nice to have Foolishness Fridays for that reason. Thanks for doing what you do!

This weekend the temperatures in southern New England are expected to rise above freezing for the first time in a while. I plan to stop hibernating and drive to spend some time with family. That will be good for my soul.

The state of the world continues to disgust me, but as the subject is somehow still not considered polite conversation in the real world my outrage will remain limited to impotent tweets as I work out my feelings online.

Been meaning to forever, but finally re-upped my expired membership because of this pivot, and what important work it is. I do wonder if it's an either/or though, coup coverage versus a source of creativity. If art is generative, joyful, and life-giving, it is our most powerful form of resistance. I don't think that's foolish at all! Looking forward to today's links, and to spring.

Agree with you Jason that winter has got to GTFO and usher in spring. We had 3 days of lows in the Teens here and boy are we sick of that! Pampered Texas problems I know but winter has been brutal for most of the country it seems. Otherwise, head down immersed in work keeps the bad thoughts away wondering if our collapsing govt will implode on itself. My visual is a nuclear explosion without the beautiful optics. TGIF

I appreciate what you're doing so much. Your posts are always informative of the moment in the best way (and by moment, yes, it's a coup. All hands on deck!).

I cancelled my WaPo subscription and subscribed to Kottke (finally, sorry...) after it became clear they were getting ready to futz around with fascism. Thank you so much for your work!

As long as your mental health is in check, I'm happy to have you being the person delivering all this news.

I am also all for winter getting it done already, although I get some climate normality comfort from the lawn being covered in snow here in February. I just spent money on getting my kid real snow boots (and I bought them on Main Street!) so I'm hoping they get some use before the end of the season.

Unlike most here I absolutely love the winter. The past few winters here in SE PA have been mild so reveling in the bitter cold.

Beyond that, trying to focus energies on our sons looming college search (UVM is that the top of the list), digging up old hobbies and generally trying to keep one eye on the things I can can control with another nervous eye on the things I can't.

Throw in a little The Agency (Paramount +) and I'm getting by.

One of my good friends calls Friday "FoF" ("bleep" off Friday, I don't know if you can swear on Kottke??!) and there's a group text that goes out every week with just FoF to remind each other to do something fun or take a break.

When I managed teams, I blocked their Friday afternoons off with "team time" so no one else would book meetings for them. And I said I didn't care if they worked or took meetings or took off, that we worked so hard during the week that on Friday afternoons, they could do whatever they needed for mental health.

So I'm down for a foolish Friday or FoF. We need it.

I appreciate the new angle, you're working as a great collector of the high points so I don't need to feel overwhelmed and mired in all of the hour by hour nonsense happening right now. That said, I do think in between posts about government intrusion, it'd be fine to throw in a good art link every so often.

After what feels like an endless depressing winter, I'm finally seeing sun today on a trip to SoCal. Next week, Oregon is supposed to hit 60ºF so that's spring too.

I mean, I subscribe to and support Kottke because I just want to see what Jason Kottke posts? So the shift in direction is just part of the ride, and I appreciate the importance ringing the alarm bells at this moment. It's really tough watching all of this unfold from up in Canada knowing I can't do much about any of it, even though there could be drastic consequences for me and my family anyway.

Anyway, I am typing this on my new mechanical keyboard that is styled like an old NES, with two big ass A and B buttons that I can program to different keyboard shortcuts. That's my little slice of joy right now amidst all of this and a very long and depressing winter.

My issue with winter has always been the lack of light, not the cold or snow, so I actually feel pretty good now that the days are noticeably longer. I have two days off next week and am looking forward to getting out to ski.

Jason, you are doing a very good job. I think your "pivot" is entirely appropriate. I'm dismayed by how other outlets are not screaming the alarm or downplaying events. Thank you for highlighting the essential. Take time for yourself though. We are in it for the long run.

KDO historically has been a place I visit for perspectives and creativity. It was a form of escapism for me. While political news and commentary (not all of which I agree) now permeates my media consumption despite attempts to limit its intrusion, I will continue to be a subscriber and daily reader hoping that it will be that place I know and love to visit.

Kansas has decided to be very midwestern this week with a foot of snow (this is record breaking for around here) and -7 temps, but then it's going to be like 65F on Monday. I joked that we were all going to get colds, and then I went and jumped the gun and got a cold. So that's fun. Our bar hosted a "Roper Romp" last weekend, where dozens of men and women did a bar crawl dressed as Helen Roper from Three's Company, and one of the Helens definitely gave me this cold.

Been also working on some messaging stuff with some other lefty organizers, and the last bit will always be something to keep you going, so definitely in favor of your plan for Fridays. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and we all need to take care of ourselves.

Oh, been watching Slow Horses too. Which is great. May try Black Doves next, keep the spy thing going.

Please keep it up! I have come to trust your editorial eye over the years (decades?), and your commitment to shedding a steady light on the insane moves being made in our country right now is invaluable. Thank you Jason!

I agree with others in the thread that the quaddemic, the cold, and the coup have added up to a pretty dreary winter. On the flip side, wild ice skating looked so fun, the coverage on this site has been excellent and grounding (mainstream media coverage has been so crazy-making in comparison), and I'm pretty healthy at the moment.

My mini media diet: "They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us" by Hanif Abdurraqib, Severance Season 2, and I really enjoyed SNL50 as a big SNL fan who was totally fine with a big nostalgia bomb instead of, you know, particularly great comedy. I've also been listening to a ton of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. They do so many different genres that I've been listening to them instead of mixes lately.

As a federal employee and as a human, I really appreciate the pivot. You've introduced me to some sources I wouldn't have found otherwise and made me feel less like I'm losing my mind - in other spheres it feels sometimes like people haven't noticed what's going on.

I very much appreciate the pivot. I'm trying (and about half succeeding) to keep my news consumption to you and a once-per-day update from Josh Marshall, and I'm more than happy to be members both there and here, because both of you are doing important work. It's very hard to keep the coup and the overhanging dread from robbing me of joy in the day-to-day...but of course, that's what they want to do, isn't it? Thanks much for what you do here - it adds a little bit of joy to some otherwise dreary days.

Keep up the pivot Jason, and thank you! Foolish Fridays are important.

I have shared your post They’re Purposefully Traumatizing the Federal Workforce with many family and friends outside DC who don't get it, thank you. I trust your balance of "the world is on fire" and "here's something cool."

They want us to feel so overwhelmed and helpless that we give up and stop fighting. So we need to pace ourselves, and we need to find some joy wherever we can. Happiness is the thing they fear the most because they don’t understand it and can’t control it.

I think your approach is great. Thank you for curating the awfulness for us, and thank you for mixing in some lightness too.

Doing ok. I stopped listening to podcasts - which I miss - because most of my subscriptions were news-related. Now I just skim the headlines and give KDO a daily visit for anything I missed.
Some things I’ve been enjoying are the returns of Severance and The White Lotus - both are great for escaping - and this dead simple 3-ingredient Mac and Cheese.

I like the balance. Heavier than usual on the curated stuff from the firehose of topical news, but also entertainment and culture and science highlights to lighten up. Kind of mirrors what I'm doing IRL.

Thank you for your approach--it's helped me feel connected without being overwhelmed. I hope it remains that way for you. I'm looking forward to making a cake for my little nephew's first birthday and going to a conservatory! I get antsy with plant planning this time of year and hopefully going to a big indoor garden will stave off the desire to start tomatoes waaaay too early...

Thanks Jason. I think adding a bit of levity helps keep us all sane! This is sadly going to be a long row to hoe (I really hope I'm wrong). So, in these trying times we're gonna need both relevant, timely political information AND ways to stay healthy and balanced. Thank you for all you do!

100% with you Jason.

I'm a researcher and we are waiting to see if our contracts will be canceled. It's not been easy. I'm trying to yoga, read my inspiration books, be in company of friends, take walks. Rest is resistance.

I like the idea of taking Fridays off on the blog. There needs to be some sense of balance and but entirely doom and gloom.

"It can feel foolish to pause to marvel at the stars when the world is burning. Or to find the world beautiful when you've known it to betray you. But wonder is a liberation practice. A reminder that we contain more than tragedy. Beauty is our origin and our anchor." From Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley

Jason, you and HCR are my only news source at this point. Like folks said above, the mainstream media is not coherent. Thank you for your coherence, including the value of Foolishness Fridays.

I started reading On Loving, Hating, and Living Well, by Ralph Greenson, on my flight to NYC today and could not put it down. Surprise hit, this book! Heard about it while listening to the podcast, Ordinary Unhappiness, while they meandered through the psychology of hate and aggression, which I also totally recommend for this particular moment we’re living.

So my update is that I’m in NYC for the first time in almost fifteen years, and I last lived here twenty years ago. Allllll the feelings.

I am all for fighting facism with facts AND foolishness. Isn’t joy an act of resistance, after all?

It’s been a long week of moving mayhem, job interviews, and calling my representatives while I eat my morning steel cut oats. Of my 10 closest friends, 8 have had funds frozen or had their jobs threatened or terminated in the last three weeks. The nonprofit/USAID circle is tight and not okay right now.

But this weekend, I am turning off notifications and going to throw axes 🪓 as much as possible, gearing up for the winter championships next weekend. 🏆 I’ve also recently taken up knife throwing, which somehow is trickier than axes? 🤷‍♀️